Fox and Scarecrow Hidden in the Leaves
by esama
Summary: Random Naruto/Kakashi oneshots. Warnings for Slash, spoilers, weirdness, time travels, AUs, maybe some OOCness occasionally and Slash.
1. Cider

Warnings: timetravel snippet, with mentions of dead people and underage drinking. Also spoilers?

Summary: Naruto is and isn't like Minato.

**Cider**

"I think that's enough for you," a warm, low voice speaks behind Kakashi and blearily he sees a hand reaching over his shoulder, to take the half full bottle from his somewhat loose grip. Wishing to glare, the recently made Anbu turns to his superior, but judging by the look of amused worry on Naruto's face, the look isn't quite as effective as he had hoped.

"Why are you still _sane_?" the recently nick-named Copy-Nin asks accusingly, and is rewarded by a soft chuckle.

"Sheer stupidity and hard-headedness," the elder ninja answers, waving the bartender over. With a harrumph, Kakashi slumps down a bit as the blond man pays his bill without a blink – it's not much, at sixteen years of age it isn't like Kakashi had been able to order any of the more expensive liquors, hell, it had been a task to get the man across the counter to sell him _anything_ alcoholic. Still, it grates him a bit.

"I can pay my own bill," the young ANBU complains, while trying to sound like he isn't complaining.

"Sure," Naruto answers, already putting his wallet away. Then he's lifting Kakashi up by his elbow, forcibly levering him off the barstool. "Up you go, Kakashi. It's time for good little assassins to go to bed."

Kakashi wants to argue, really, but the world spins and then they are outside the bar and there it is, the lingering effects of the devastation Kyuubi had wrought. How long had it been now? Days, maybe a week, most of which had been spent in single minded stupor, as they had picked the collapsed buildings and cleared the streets, piled up the bodies and spent what seems like now endless hours in continuous funeral ceremonies.

One of which had been for Minato-sensei and Kushina-san.

"Why are you still sane?" Kakashi demands again, bitter and light headed as he leans onto the elder, stronger shinobi who sets a very nearly punishing walking pace. "He was your _father_."

"And she was my mother, yeah, but it's not the same really. I was already grown up when I got to know them – hell, I was the same age as them. Time travel makes everything a bit wonky," Naruto answers. "And I knew this was coming. We got to say our goodbyes."

"Why didn't you stop it?" Kakashi demands, glaring at him with all the power of a single eye, and that one bleary too.

"Some things can't be changed. Some things _shouldn't_be changed. I won't go as far as to call it fate but… maybe it is a bit like fate," Naruto shrugs and then looks down at him – and for a moment Kakashi really, _really_ hates how much the man looks like Minato-sensei. Naruto is bigger, a bit broader than Minato had been, and darker hued – tanned skin, golden hair, all somehow more vibrant. But the similarities are there and they are _painfully _striking.

"I don't believe in fate," Kakashi mutters, looking away. "Not like that."

"Me neither. But some things happen, maybe not for a reason but… on their time," Naruto says and then has to struggle a bit to keep Kakashi upright, as the young Anbu hits his toe on a loose cobble and nearly falls over. "Lightweight," the man mutters amusedly, and then hoists Kakashi closer to himself, wrapping one powerful arm around the younger shinobi's waist to hold him up.

Against Naruto's sheer physical presence, Kakashi feels a bit like a rag doll.

"I hate this," the Copy-nin confesses. "All of it. I hate is so much I can't stand it at times."

"Yeah, me too. More than I can tell," Naruto answers with a heavy sigh which Kakashi can feel against his side, and for a moment the bigger man leans his chin on Kakashi's hair. The young Anbu can _almost_ feel what the other might be feeling because, really, despite his intoxication he knows Naruto – knows he must've tried to change things. Naruto had loved Minato too. Kakashi knows that.

It's slow to register through the haze, but he wonders how long Naruto had really known – and how long, before that, had he been trying to change history.

"Why aren't you drunk?" Kakashi asks after a moment of quiet, occasionally broken by some noise or another coming somewhere in the ruined village around them.

"Can't get drunk," Naruto answers. "I metabolise food too fast – I'd have to drink a barrel worth of sake and even then I might at best get a bit of a buzz."

"That has got to suck," Kakashi says. He doesn't say that he can walk by himself, really, that Naruto didn't need to drag him along like he is. The man is warm.

Kakashi can feel his heartbeat, heavy and insistent against his shoulder.

"It does," Naruto says. "It really does. But on brighter note, I can stuff myself up to gills and it'll never show on me."

The younger ninja snorts at that, and for a while they continue in silence, until they make to where Naruto is leading them – not to Kakashi's apartment, because nothing remains of it – it had been one of those buildings completely destroyed. Instead it's Naruto's current dwelling, a construction that is partially a tent, and partially masterful sealing work – it looks flimsy but is probably more secure than any high risk prison.

"In you go," Naruto says, biting his thumb almost absently and opening the door flap with a casual wipe. Inside, the lanterns lit themselves at their presence and Kakashi's bleary gaze lands onto the futon stretched in the middle of the tent. Just one futon.

"Not sure if I like you _that_ much, Naruto," the Copy-nin says with a slow blink and then looks at the man.

"Oh? But I'm oh so lovable," the man grins, letting the door flap close as he ushers Kakashi towards and then down onto the futon, he younger man landing with a soft grunt. "Don't worry, your virtue is safe with me. I won't even try to get a glimpse of your face, though I got to admit that it is _very _tempting."

"Funny," Kakashi says and stares at the man as Naruto crouches down to take off his footwear. Kakashi blinks slowly and realises he isn't sure if anyone has ever taken his geta off, aside from himself. Naruto is brisk and efficient, not at all gentle, and yet… it's somehow novel, how Kakashi's bare heel lands on the man's warm, calloused palm as the man puts the sandal away.

Warm. Naruto is always warm. Like sunny day incarnate. Warm and bursting with life – sometimes Kakashi feels like he ought to try and find some shade around Naruto. Warm all over, heated and radiating.

Suddenly he's struck with the notion that he is rather cold and Naruto is, like Minato-sensei had been, very handsome. But differently. Minato had been graceful and somehow statuesque – unreachable and maybe a bit hard to the touch. Naruto is too, but his hardness is that of well worn leather, strong but yielding. Their smiles are different – Minato's gentle and fleeting, Naruto's wide and wild and fast.

While Naruto takes off his other geta, Kakashi stares, and the more he does, the more he sees the difference in the familiarity of his features. And not just in how much Naruto reminds him of Minato-sensei, but how there is something in his eyes – blue like Minato's, but with the shape from Kushina – that is even more similar.

Kakashi is pretty sure he's seen those eyes in his mirror.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he says before he can think it twice, and Naruto's blue, familiar, strange eyes snap up, silent and startled.

"Ditto," the man says after a long moment and then they just stare at each other. The tent is silent, the seals holding all of the outside world at bay, and the air between them seems _private_ in a way it hadn't before. Kakashi's head dips a bit to the side, his muscles feeling lax and tired – he doesn't even want to _think_ of all the work he's been doing in the last week or so. And yet…

There is a ball of emotion in Kakashi's chest and it feels cold and burning – it is making him anxious and energetic and he wants to hit something, clung onto something, strangle it.

By their own volition, his knees shift apart and Naruto's eyes flicker down for a moment, to take in Kakashi's body, his own position his between the younger man's feet and Kakashi thinks, thinks – Naruto would be heavy. Heavy and warm and _smothering_ and he would be able to wrap himself completely around the man and just stop _being_ for a while, stop thinking, stop feeling.

"You're drunk," Naruto comments without hint of what he's thinking – but his hands, one of them rests near Kakashi's knee, very near, the proximity _burning_. "And sixteen to boot."

Kakashi chuckles – it sounds breathy, strange. "I'm an Anbu now. Tomorrow I will kill people," he comments back.

"I thought you didn't like me that much," Naruto adds, but he shifts, resting his weight on his knees, almost leaning forward.

"Anbu," Kakashi repeats. Lying is part of the job description. Shaking his head he reaches forward and grabs the man by the collar of his green vest, bringing him closer, bringing him down with him, over him.

"Dad would kill me," Naruto murmurs as he follows, half hesitant and half eager, settling over him – he is heavy, _gloriously so_ – and Kakashi laughs to stop himself from crying.

x

I'm in a Naruto/Kakashi mood doing little one shots on tumblr and figured I might as well post them here too. These are all unrelated random stuff, most likely not connected with each other.


	2. Boxers

Warnings: future au maybe? Blood and hurt and healing and so on. Maybe a bit NSFW.

Summary: One can't always escape unscathed.

**Boxers**

Naruto stares up at the night sky above him, swallowing around the dryness of his throat. He hurts _all over_, in splotches and tears of pains, aches and discomforts, bigger here, stronger there, insistent everywhere.

"Tell me if this hurts," Kakashi says, his voice very level, forcibly so, and the man's gloved hands are clumsily moving over his chest, applying what little the Copy-nin knows about healing. It's rather like trying to put out a burning village with a water glass and Naruto laughs quietly – and that hurts too.

But they had won. It had nearly killed him, it had nearly torn him apart _several times_ but they had won.

"Ow," he mutters as Kakashi's hand presses on his stomach, the open wound there spiking up in objection to the foreign chakra Kakashi presses into him, to try and coax torn tissues to knit together. Kyuubi's chakra is already doing some of the healing, Naruto can feel it worming inside, taking care of the injuries too deep for Kakashi to reach, but it's a slow, teasing process and he knows, with rather painful clarity, how close he is to bleeding to death.

"Sorry," Kakashi murmurs, but doesn't stop, pressing his hand down a bit more insistently and Naruto just barely keeps himself from writhing, from gagging – oh, god almighty, but that _hurts_, the sort of nauseating, overwhelming hurt that feels like dying. Really dying the undignified, purely physical way people die, slow and torturous and utterly embarrassing.

Swallowing and choking, the blond turns his thoughts to something else, away from the pain. Turning his face away from the night sky he looks to his left – what remains of his jacket lies there in crumbled, miserable heap of torn fabric. Unsalvageable, no doubt. Pity. He had really liked that jacket too.

The rest of his clothing was in about equal state. He could feel the holes in his _legs_ so they must've been also on his trousers – and there is a cut along his side, which ran from his ribcage to the mid tight, so the waistline of his trousers was probably ruined too. One of his sandals was lose, the side torn -

Naruto breathes slow and stuttering as Kakashi runs his hand along the cut on his side – it's not serious like the other wounds, just a cut rather than a gaping hole – but it's bleeding a lot. Kakashi presses his hand along it, from his ribs down along his waist, over his hip and then to his thigh before starting to pay more attention there.

"You're going to live," the man says, and without ceremony rips Naruto's trousers off his hips, peeling them back without any bother thanks to their state. Naruto laughs again softly and then gasps as something rips along his inner thigh – the blood had dried up there a bit, gluing the fabric into the wound and _ouch_… "Just hang on," Kakashi says and puts his hand there too.

"I don't think anyone's ever touched me this much," Naruto muses through the haze of pain – and fading of it too. He doesn't hurt as much now, Kakashi's taken most of the wounds above his waist line and Kyuubi's chakra coils in whatever remains, taking care of what Kakashi hadn't been able to. That just makes the remaining wounds all the more painful, though, and Naruto winces helplessly as the man's fingers grace a burn mark, unable to do much about that it isn't a open wound and there isn't anything there to knit together.

"Does that make me your first date?" Kakashi asks with a wry grin in his voice and Naruto laughs again, quick and mirthless.

"Nope. Most painful one so far though," Naruto admits and closes his eyes. Kyuubi is working faster now – with fewer wounds the fur ball is having easier time of it and can direct the healing chakra where it needs to go, rather than trying to push it everywhere all at once and thus doing very little good with it.

For a moment Naruto loses the track of time, between the pain and the energies on his skin and inside it, clashing – it feels a bit like there is a thunderstorm going on just beneath his skin, where Kakashi presses his hand and Kyuubi's hotter chakra pushes from within. When the blond can open his eyes without them tearing again, most of the pain is gone and he's tingling, the newness of the healed wounds making him shiver. New nerve-endings, the old hag had once told him. They'd feel sensitive for a while.

Very, very sensitive. The rush of _lack of pain_ is heady and Naruto inhales slowly, closing his eyes again for a moment to try and bring his shivering flesh back into order. It doesn't quite work. His body has the bad habit of embracing painlessness with a joyous rush – effect of having been hurt and healed so many times, maybe, or maybe it has something to do with Kyuubi's chakra being so damn energising. Whatever it is, it tends to be embarrassing to be Naruto, freshly healed.

Especially when his trousers are somewhere near his ankles, nowhere near to cover him.

"Alright?" Kakashi asks and he sounds relieved and amused both.

"Well, obviously," Naruto answers, embarrassed, and looks up and then down at himself. He's littered with fresh scars, and there is red smoke coiling from them – the demon's chakra still working at the damaged tissue. Shaking his head and trying to ignore his state as best as he can, he looks at his commander. "You alright?" he asks. "Not that I can do anything about it mind you, can't heal worth shit. But I can bandage alright."

"I'm fine," Kakashi answers with an uneasy shrug and shifts back, to let Naruto sit up. And Kakashi is fine, not a mark on him – but then he would be. He hadn't been anywhere near the battlefield, his part of the mission having been stealthy retrieval of lost property while Naruto played the part of distraction. Or, in other words, the punching bag.

"We should probably retreat from here…" Kakashi says, sounding almost bashful all of sudden – but then, sitting up had made Naruto's state, if possible, all the more obvious. "Though perhaps you want to take care of… that before we go."

Naruto snorts, looking at the man with open amusement. Kakashi, the famously perverted jounin who took his porn to _every mission he went to…_ embarrassed? That's a sight. Naruto himself isn't much – it's a long going condition after all, as embarrassing as it is he's gotten adjusted to and having lived three years with Jiraiya had taught him out of any embarrassment concerning sexuality.

This is sort of funny though.

"Well not really. It'll go down by itself, eventually. I'd like some clothing though, if you have any spares. I think all my storage scrolls got torn," Naruto says, kicking his sandals off clumsily so that he can wiggle out of what remains of his trousers – and okay, moving in his condition is kind of _interesting._ And oops it looks like his boxers aren't in any better condition tan his trousers had been – they're torn on one side and barely hanging on for dear life.

The studiously casual examination of his won gear Kakashi makes is somehow hilarious, as the man looks through his storage scrolls for clothing. Looking everywhere but down, at Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei, you pervert," the blond grins, and laughs as the man fumbles with one of the scrolls.

"You're the one to speak, sporting _that_ –" the man says, pauses and then clears his throat, turning his attention to the scroll and then releasing the portion of it – a full set of Hidden Leaf's shinobi uniform appearing in poof of smoke. "You _sure_ you want to just – I mean, you can't very well run with – it should be taken care off, for decency's sake."

"You, talking about decency? Funny," Naruto grins and then leans forward – Kakashi leans back, giving him a look that's not quite calm and aloof as the man probably would've liked. "You're very keen about this. You offering?" he leers and for a split of a second Kakashi looks delightfully startled.

Naruto's well aware that he had grown up and he had grown up _good_ too. While he hadn't really been a child since Sasuke's betrayal, he had been an _adult_ for a while now, with an adult's shoulders and height and muscles, his face having lost its softness, and gained firmness instead, all of which he thinks suits him rather well. Lot of people have been noticing that lately – and yeah, Naruto has been basking that attention with all the glee and eagerness the situation permitted.

He hasn't realised that Kakashi is one of the people, noticing. It's a thought, though. It's very much a _thought_.

Kakashi swallows, staring at him for a moment with a _caught_ look in his eyes. "This isn't the place for this?" the man chokes out, and Naruto realises he's still leering – practically naked, covered in blood, with a raging hard on, and _leering_ at his old sensei who's now helplessly glancing down and up again along his body.

"Fine," Naruto grins. "Hold that thought, though, for later."

Oh yeah. _Later_.

x

Hmmhmm... I think I write a weird Naruto, maybe.


	3. Cyclops

Warnings: future au. Slash and injury and bit of hurt and comfort maybe? Mildly slashy

Summary: Some injuries never heal but you learn to live with them.

**Cyclops**

Naruto keeps running into things. That's the worst of it – he can't gauge how far things are, or how close, and so he keeps walking into doors and banging his head on low branches. It's more annoying than painful or even embarrassing and he really wishes it won't be like that all of the goddamn time here on.

"You'll get used to it," Kakashi assures him with strange tone, as Naruto rubs his hand along the bandage covering what is now an empty socket beneath. It's a real bother to find out only now that even he can't regenerate missing organs and that no matter how the demonic chakra keeps on flickering inside his eye socket, there won't be a new eye appearing there now or probably ever. Not unless someone donated, and yeah, that's not gonna happen.

"And how long will that take?" Naruto grumbles, lowering his hand. Most his techniques tend to rely on the concept that _he has depth perception_ and right now he doesn't. He could make a million shadow clones and they'd all be pretty much useless, unable to tell the distance of things. He couldn't throw with as much accuracy as he had been able to before. He could still use Rasengan and it's many, better forms sure, but… how much use would that be, if he kept on falling short of his targets?

"Week, maybe two. You'll learn to tell the distance by other cues, rather than being able to see things in three dimensions," Kakashi says. "By shadows and two dimensional perspective. Just give it time – the Hokage's given you time off for it, after all. It'll come back, even if differently."

Sighing, Naruto nods. Logically he knows it will, and eventually he will be able to tell the distance of things – there are one eyed shinobi out there, lot of them very good at their jobs and Kakashi himself goes through most of his life with single eye, unable to use the Sharingan much because of the chakra drain. If they can manage, so can he. It's just so damned inconvenient, right now. And Kyuubi's chakra whirling in his eye socket is not making him feel any better – it's giving him a headache now.

Shaking his head, Naruto looks at the elder shinobi thoughtfully, wondering. He has never given it much thought, the fact that Kakashi has pretty much no depth perception most of the time. "How did you lose your eye anyway?" he asks.

The man glances at him and then away as they continue down along the street where the man had caught him. "It was a mission, during the Third Great War," he says simply. "A ninja from Hidden Stone managed to swipe at me with a sword – I was twelve at the time."

"Ouch," Naruto murmurs, trying not to imagine what it might've been like if he had lost his eye at that age. He would've gotten used to it by now, of course, but at twelve? Fresh out of academy – though of course by that time Kakashi had already been a jounin, the damn genius.

Kakashi smiles, the way he does which only shows in his single visible eye. "Come on," the man says, clasping him on the shoulder – shoulder which now is almost at level with his. "I'll buy you ramen."

"Nah. I don't really feel like it – and I should train," Naruto answers, embarrassed – though mostly it's because about half of the village has bought him ramen since he lost his eye, and as much as he loves the stuff, enough's enough. He's already had nearly eight bowls that day alone and it wasn't even evening yet.

Besides he's wounded, not a charity case. Or about to die, like most of his friends seem to think.

The elder shinobi gives him a look and then shrugs. "Alright," he says, easy going as ever. "Want some help with that?"

Naruto considers that for a moment – considering saying no because that's what he's been doing most of the time since his injury, not wanting to endure the sympathetic looks and constant assurances about how he's going to be fine. But then, most of those people, as nice as they have been, aren't actually familiar with the situation. It wasn't like _Kakashi_ would try and give him sympathy and pity and cheery assurances that ran false.

"Yeah, sure," the younger shinobi says instead.

"Come on then," Kakashi says and sets out in a run, leaving Naruto momentarily startled and then chasing after him – and very nearly colliding with the first passer by. Grimacing Naruto jumps up to the rooftops – less traffic there – and follows the Copy-nin through the village and towards the training grounds.

If there are some wires and antenna loose on the rooftops afterwards, he totally had nothing to do with it.

Kakashi's idea of getting used to being one-eyed is to literally fight his way through it – and so Naruto spends most of the afternoon sparring with his old sensei, sometimes alone and sometimes with some clones at his side, often clumsy and awkward and getting variety of bruises for it, but keeping at it. Kakashi has the upper hand all the time, but he doesn't make the fact that he's going _very_ easy on Naruto that obvious and eventually the younger shinobi loses himself in the attempt of finding old accuracy, and figuring out his reach properly. Sometimes he succeeds. Often not.

By the end of the session, he's bruised and sweaty and actually feels a bit better about life – despite everything, he had managed to land few solid blows. He's not completely useless.

"Try and spar with someone every day, it'll help," Kakashi says, crouching down beside him after Naruto doesn't bother to get up after the blow that had send him tumbling down. "This isn't something you want to consciously spent effort to manage – you need to make it instinctive. Fighting will help with that."

"Yeah, yeah, I will," Naruto answers, wiping sweat from his brow and grinning. "Do you think I should get an eye patch?"

Kakashi chuckles and then sits down beside I'm, ankles crossed. "If you'd like," he says.

"Or maybe I'll slant my headband over it like you do," Naruto muses, peering up at the elder man thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't recommend it. It took me years to figure out how to keep it from slipping down completely and blinding me at inopportune moments," Kakashi answers, digging out his book from his back pouch. "It's handier for me, because I need to occasionally reveal my left eye, but you don't."

"Hm," Naruto hums, still eying the man's face. Though it's hidden he can remember the clean cut scar running down from Kakashi's forehead to his cheek – almost perfectly vertical. His isn't anything like that – the wound he got took most of his eyelids with it, leaving a gaping hole surrounded by ragged scarring. Not as pretty by far.

Even if he didn't need to cover the socket to avoid things getting into it and causing infections and whatnot, he still would've. Not that he minds the scarring – there are a lot worse things about life than bit of scarring and his isn't even that bad, all things considered. But other people do mind it – the few who have seen it, who aren't healers, all recoiled with grimaces. Sakura had too, looking embarrassed about it afterwards but still…

Kakashi probably wouldn't. Even if the man's scar is dainty in comparison and he has a whole, full eye beneath it, he had felt it. The feel of how fragile something as vital as eye was. How easily it was just _gone_.

"Eye patch it is, I guess," the blond shinobi says, before shifting closer to the man so that he can rest his head on Kakashi's thigh. Kakashi, if he minds it, says nothing and just turns a page and reads on – or pretends to, at any rate.

"The sky doesn't look much different, with just one eye," Naruto murmurs, staring at the blue expanse above them, at the wisps of clouds passing by.

"No, it doesn't," Kakashi agrees, resting his hand on Naruto's hair, fingers lazily brushing through the blond spikes, and with a yawn Naruto closes his single eye as they fall into an easy, comfortable silence.


	4. Rain

Warnings; another future au, slash with established relationship. Mildly NSFW?

Summary; Maybe one day they will achieve a peaceful cohabitation. Probably not though.

**Rain**

"You're wet," Kakashi comments from the couch as Naruto stumbles in, soaked to the bones thanks to the outpour going on outside.

"No, really?" Naruto answers with a snort and shakes the water out of his hair, dropping the bag of groceries and kicking his sandals off before spending a moment wrestling with the zipper of his jacket. Kakashi only glances at him from the couch before going back to his book, as Naruto strips himself first of the jacket, then of the shirt beneath – it's soaked too, and _cold_ – before shimmying out of his soaked pants, leaving the younger shinobi clad only on a rather wet pair of boxers.

"Not that I mind the show, but do you have to do that in the hall?" the Copy-nin asks, turning the page.

"I am wet and miserable so yes," Naruto says, jumping into the bathroom only for long enough to hang his soaked clothing to dry and grab a towel, before padding out on bare feet, more or less naked, with the towel around his shoulders. "Besides you're not even looking so it doesn't count."

"Peripheral vision," Kakashi comments simply.

"Yeah, sure," Naruto snorts, grabbing the bag of groceries and heading to the kitchen to put them away. "This is your fault anyway – you burned my umbrella."

Kakashi winces a bit at the memory of doing Chidori while holding the metal spined – and highly conductive – umbrella. "Electrocuted it, actually."

"Same difference – it was all crispy and black by the end of it," Naruto snorts, rubbing his hair with the towel with one hand while shoving the purchases into cupboards with the other. Kakashi glances at him long enough to make sure it's not _all_ ramen – it isn't, just mostly – before going back to the book.

There is a quiet for a moment as Naruto finishes, only the sound of rain against the windows and Kakashi turning the pages breaking the silence. Then the Copy-nin hears the sound of footsteps coming to his direction and manages to just in time lift his book out of the way as Naruto lands solidly in his lap.

"Now you're getting _me_ wet," the elder shinobi says, highly unimpressed.

"You deserve it, for giving me all this trouble," Naruto answers, poking him in the chest. "Not only did you burn my umbrella but you are free loading in _my_ apartment, making _me_ buy more food because of your sorry ass. Next time it rains, you can do the shopping."

"Hm," Kakashi hums idly, leaning back and settling more comfortably against the backrest. Mostly naked Naruto in his lap is… a sight to behold. All lean, tanned muscle, peppered with scars big and small here and there, and gleaming with the remainder of the rain still clinging onto his skin. "Hmm…" the man hums again, lower this time, setting one gloved hand on the younger man's waist. Firm and radiating with warmth.

"Can't even bother to make excuses for yourself, can you?" Naruto scoffs at him, spending a moment scrubbing at his hair with the towel. "I'm going to start charging you rent."

"Considering where you are right now, maybe it's I who should start charging for rent," Kakashi hums, following the line of a firm muscle with his thumb, shifting a bit under Naruto's weight. "Besides it's just temporary. Once my flat is fixed, I'll be out of your hair again."

"Yeah, right," Naruto mutters, giving him a look which is part disgust and part fondness before lifting the towel and snapping it taunt before looping it around Kakashi's neck and tugging the man closer by it. "You were freeloading here before that and you'll be freeloading here afterwards, and don't think I don't realise that, you lazy piece of –"

Kakashi smothers the urge to grin as Naruto takes hold of the edge of his mask with his teeth, dragging it out of the way with practiced annoyance. It still covers his chin partially by the time Naruto's satisfied and leaning in to take his mouth, with the same annoyance in the force of the kiss, casual and demanding and somehow justified. Taking his due, in a certain way.

Naruto's kisses have expressions in them, emotions and feelings. They're never _just_ kisses.

"And why," Kakashi murmurs against the bite against his lower lip. "Would I want to stay here, per say? Your apartment is ghastly and falling apart."

"And three times as big as yours, with a tub and king sized bed," Naruto grumbles, before giving the abused lip a gentle nibble and leaning his forehead against Kakashi's, their headband's clinking together gently. "And because you love me?"

"Oh, I do, do I?" Kakashi snorts, both his hands at Naruto's sides now, moving up and down along the firm length of the younger man's body.

Naruto grins almost arrogantly. "You loove me," the blond croons mockingly. "You wanna huug me, you wanna smooch me…"

"You impetuous brat," the elder shinobi grunts with amusement and shaking his head and does just that. Naruto laughs against his lips and drops the towel around Kakashi's neck, wrapping his arms – warm, firm, strong now – against the elder man's shoulders, hauling him closer. They wrestle the kiss between them more than they really share it, and after a moment Kakashi gets tired of the upper hand the younger man has and turns the tables, by turning and pushing Naruto down and to lie along the couch.

"Oh, unfair," Naruto grumbles as the elder man withdraws from his lips.

"How so?" Kakashi asks, smirking, as he opens the zipper of his vest and gets rid of it, letting the garment with all its gear and scrolls fall to the floor beside the cough.

"Distracting me to get upper hand, that is just unsporting," Naruto answers, shifting and watching with hot eyes and Kakashi tugs his shirt off too, and the mask along with it. "Though on other hand, this isn't so bad," the younger man murmurs, reaching out one hand to trail along the long scars across Kakashi's torso.

"How wonderful of you to approve," the joining says with a snort and leans down, to rest over the young man's warm body. Naruto takes the weight without complaining, but wiggles a bit until he gets one leg between Kakashi's thighs, lifting it up just to the right angle.

"You know, you could just move in," the blond man says, taking a handful of Kakashi's hair and eying him seriously. "So long as you pitch in with the bills I wouldn't mind that much."

"High endorsement," Kakashi comments noncommittally, a bit unsure.

"Isn't it just?" Naruto agrees with a grin, and then just looks at him, waiting. And despite the words and their simplicity, the elder man knows the offer is actually serious – more serious than either of them really feels comfortable with, all things considered, and yet.

Sighing, Kakashi leans his head down, resting it for a moment against Naruto's bare shoulder. He's lived alone all his life – hell, he hasn't even had real relationships, not before Naruto and his damn hard headedness and stubbornness. Certainly not any as long as this one has been.

It's a bit terrifying. Even if it is Naruto. Or maybe because of it.

"You can sneak in through the windows at ungodly hours and we can water the plants together," Naruto comments idly, running a hand along Kakashi's bare back. "What do you say?"

"Do I have to buy you ramen?" Kakashi asks plaintively.

He can hear the grin in the younger man's voice as Naruto answers, "All the time," before he's hauled into another expressive, bruising kiss.


End file.
